Bletchley Park receives Hudson’s Heritage Award

Bletchley Park has triumphed in the Best New Discovery category in the Hudson’s Heritage Awards. The winners were announced at a special awards ceremony at Goldsmiths’ Hall in London on Tuesday 1 March.

The heritage attraction, which is open daily, beat Woburn Abbey and Gardens in Bedfordshire and The Judge’s Lodging in Powys to the top spot. The awards were open to all heritage attractions in the UK including historic houses, museums and archaeological sites. The Best New Discovery category includes attractions that have been restored and the award follows Bletchley Park’s £8 million restoration project in 2014. This has seen visitor numbers soar to 286,000 in 2015. From the new Visitor Centre to the newly restored Huts, visitors are taken on an atmospheric codebreaking journey where they discover different Enigma cracking techniques and learn what life was like for the Codebreakers.

Iain Standen, CEO of Bletchley Park, said, “It is fantastic to win this award, which is recognition that there are still new things to discover at Bletchley Park as we continue to transform and enhance the site.”

This is the latest in a series of titles won by the museum. In December Bletchley Park was named as Large Visitor Attraction of the Year in The Beautiful South Awards For Excellence. Earlier in 2015 it won Best Attraction for Groups in the Group Travel Awards and both the Leisure and Entertainment Award and the Business of the Year Award in the Milton Keynes Business Achievement Awards. The heritage attraction has also been given a Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence.